A
fine example of a turf-cut maze (sometimes known as a miz-maze), Julian's Bower
stands on a hillside overlooking the confluence of the River Ouse and River Trent,
with an earthwork known as Countess Close above it. No-one knows who originally
cut this 12 metre maze (technically a Labyrinth - as it has a single entrance
and path), or when, but it is only first recorded in 1697 by Abraham de la Pryme.
Several theories exist, and you may take your pick from the following:-

The idea of the maze comes from the
legend of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus, son of King Aegeus of Athens used
a ball of wool given to him by Ariadne to mark his way through the labyrinth of
the Minotaur in Crete, slayed the monster and retraced his steps with the aid
of the thread and so to safety.

History also tells us that Julius,
the son of Aeneas (a Trojan warrior who appears in Homer's Iliad and Virgil's
Aeneid) brought the idea of turf-cut mazes to Italy from Troy after it was destroyed
by the Greeks.

Another theory is that the maze was
carved by a small cell of monks who lived in this area until the 13th century.
The early Christian church did indeed use the idea of mazes as symbolic of the
path to heaven, and also as a penitential device. Interestingly, the nearby Alkborough
church has a copy of the maze inlaid into the porch floor, and this is used as
a template for the periodic re-cutting of the turf. There is also a copy in the
east window, while a short distance away in the cemetery a stone cross marks the
grave of J. Goulton-Constable which also bears a copy of the maze.

Another story relates that St. Julian
the Hospitaller, who set up a hostelry after accidentally killing his parents
was one night visited by a leper. As there were no spare beds, he offered his
own to he traveler, who then turned into an angel.

Whatever the origins of the maze, it has played an important part in the lives
of the locals, and games are known to have been played here on May Eve until well
into the 19th century.